


A Second Chance

by Naopao



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: :DD, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Pet Store, FOR THE FUTURE, Gen, M/M, cat genji, i'm sorry it's now longer but, there's many ways this can go!!, this is a silly drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 18:18:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naopao/pseuds/Naopao
Summary: Zenyatta finds an abandoned cat, or an abandoned cat finds somewhere warm to rest.





	A Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> My [genyatta-ss](https://genyatta-ss.tumblr.com/) for [lacertae-dreamscape](http://lacertae-dreamscape.tumblr.com/). I have more ideas for this prompt, but I hope this first part is still enjoyable!

Hanamura seems at first glance utopian: a well-kept cityscape that melded technological advancement with natural beauty. The sakura trees wedged between tall, pristine buildings immediately captivate Zenyatta, who more often than not walks beneath their boughs, catching the falling petals in his servos.

But its beauty does not hide its darker side: crime, gangs, exploitations of omnic and human alike. Although troubling, it is not as dangerous as other places he had traveled, and Zenyatta had learned long ago how to take care of himself.

It is why he chooses to meditate in the openness of a local park, reading the composition of the air, enjoying the scent of the grass and sakura around him. The spring sun warms his chassis while he folds into lotus and opens his mind and soul to the Iris.

So deep in his meditation, he does not notice his small visitor.

The cat is sitting peacefully in his lap by the time he powers on his array. It is a big animal, male judging by its size, one ear crumpled and scarred. The rest of his body is not much better, though it is well hidden by coarse, black fur.

“How auspicious.” Zenyatta says. The cat opens its eyes, and Zenyatta is awed by their color: viridian and bright. “Hello, little one.”

The omnic extends his hand.

The cat moves faster than his array can track, swatting at him then dashing into the bushes nearby. Zenyatta stares at the scratches along his chrome curiously. A lesson learned.

He does not see the green eyes peering at him from the brush, watching as he departs.

* * *

When Zenyatta returns the next day, he brings a sachet of dried fish with him. It is a meager apology, but when he meditates, the cat appears, staring at him from the bushes.

“Hello again.”

The cat does not move.

“You are welcome to sit.” He knows the cat cannot understand, but there is a comfort in speaking to him. With a quiet hum, he withdraws the fish, shaking a few morsels into his upturned palm.

The cat’s nose twitches, then he approaches with care, eyes never leaving Zenyatta’s faceplate. It sniffs with another twitch of his bright pink nose, then snaps at the food, inhaling the pile in a few bites.

“You are rather tough, but also rather hungry.” He lets the cat eat the remainder of the fish, reveling in the strange texture of its tongue as it laps against the paneling of his palm.

He sniffs, looks expectantly at Zenyatta, then emits a low chirp, stepping into the worn, excessive fabric of his pants, kneading until he finds it acceptable and sits.

Zenyatta does not pet this time, just stares at the cat who thought him a nice, warm place to rest and little else. Somehow, it pleases him, and he meditates quite easily with the warm weight on his lap.

* * *

Sometimes the cat visits, sometimes not. Zenyatta always settles in the same nook in the park with bits of fish or kibble. Day by day, the mangy skinniness of the cat dissipates, leaving a large, handsome tom. Zenyatta stays after he meditates to play with him, letting the tom bat at his orbs which he cheekily floats out of reach, or so he thinks.

The cat jumps feet into the air, and Zenyatta gasps as the cat swats an orb to the ground.

“Wonderful! You are quite the hunter!”

The cat preens and struts around the orb, stalking with his tail held high. Zenyatta rolls it around to entice him and spends the next several minutes teasing the cat into pouncing. Finally, the cat tires and rolls onto his back, stretching out his legs.

Zenyatta moves slowly so that the cat can track his movements. The first touch of his fingers along the soft fur of his underbelly is unlike anything Zenyatta has experienced before, warm and ticklish against his metal. The cat strains beneath the touch, a sound rumbling from his chest.

Purring.

He wonders at the cat’s change of heart, how beautiful and friendly he had become in the few weeks since Zenyatta had met him.

“You are like a new cat.” Zenyatta says. The cat looks at him, eyes thinning. He pets behind his ears, and the cat burrows into the touch, purring so loudly the monk can feel the vibrations along his fingers. “Hm, a second chance. I shall call you Genji.”

The cat opens his eyes, staring like he can see right through Zenyatta, then he burrows against his hand once more, and Zenyatta laughs.

“Would you like to journey with me, Genji?”

He bundles Genji within his kasaya, and Genji purrs against his power core, warmed by the machinery within his chassis, safe, perhaps, for the first time in his life.

* * *

Zenyatta uses what little coin he possesses to take Genji to the vet and purchase food. While the omnic at the register rings him up, he studies the display next to the counter. Among the treats and toys hangs a collar the color of Genji’s eyes. He would have to reuse his oil for a few cycles longer than recommended, but he could not resist.

Genji sits in a sunny spot outside the store, looking up at him with a questioning chirp.

“I hope I did not keep you waiting long. I have something for you.”

He kneels, unbuckling the soft leather, wondering at how Genji holds still as Zenyatta fastens it to his neck.

“There is a GPS inside. I will always be able to find you should you lose your way.” Genji butts into his hand, and Zenyatta rubs behind his ears. “Though I suppose you would not need much help. You are resourceful for one so small.”

Zenyatta clicks his synth, and Genji jumps into his arms, settling into the sling where he had knotted his kasaya for his companion.

“Well, Genji. What do you say to traveling beyond the city? It has been many years since I have returned home.”

Genji meows, snuggling deeper against his body, and Zenyatta reaches inside his kasaya to pet him, still comforted as he was the first time the cat had allowed his touch.


End file.
